The Interim Higher Education Funding Committee of the North Dakota Legislature met on the campus of Valley City State University on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Chaired by Mark Sanford, District 17 representative, the committee includes two Valley City State alumni—Larry Robinson ’71, District 24 senator (and VCSU executive director of university advancement), and Clark Williams ’64, District 25 representative.

President Steve Shirley presented Valley City State highlights to the committee, and David DeMuth, Jr., executive director of the Great Plains STEM Education Center at VCSU, also presented on the STEM Center’s activities and goals.

The Interim Higher Education Funding Committee also heard presentations on the North Dakota University System’s proposed Pathways to Student Success Plan, K–12 Common Core standards in mathematics and English language arts, student performance and remedial education rates, college affordability and loans, student tuition and fee models, state scholarship programs, and the statewide longitudinal data system.

Among those presenting to the committee was VCSU alumnus Kirsten Baesler, M.Ed. ’10, North Dakota superintendent of public instruction, along with Kirsten Diederich, president of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, and Larry Skogen, North Dakota University System interim chancellor.

In attendance at the meeting was VCSU alumna Joan Heckaman ’67, District 23 senator, who serves on the Interim Education Funding Committee.

Joe Stickler, VCSU professor emeritus, led interested committee members and meeting attendees on a tour of the newly renovated and expanded L.D. Rhoades Science Center, a $10.3 million project funded by an appropriation in the 2011 North Dakota legislative session.